Geohot pwns Chronic Dev Team in dueling hacks

The creators of one iOS jailbreak tool have delayed its release, in order to use a different iOS security hole uncovered by another hacker. So instead of two iOS jailbreaks being released today...none will be released.

"Jailbreaking" refers to a hack that lets iPhone and iPad users free their iOS device so it can be loaded with any software application outside of Apple's iTunes App Store. Jailbreaks exploit weaknesses in the operating system, uncovered by the hackers. Earlier today, just before they were due to release the latest version of GreenPois0n, for iOS 4.1, the hackers known as Chronic Dev Team announced via Twitter that their code would be delayed.

The reason: they were substituting just-announced code, dubbed LimeRa1n, from iOS hacker George Hotz, which uses a different iOS boot ROM weakness than GreenPois0n. [See yesterday's blogpost on this: "Second iOS jailbreak due Sunday"]

"We are making the responsible decision as suggested by @MuscleNerd and @comex to delay greenpois0n while we implement the limera1n exploit," the Twitter post read."MuscleNerd" is the handle used by a member of another iOS hacking group, iPhone Dev-Team. He tweeted that it was unfortunate that two jailbreaks, each using a separate security hole, were being released, giving Apple software engineers the means to begin sealing both of them at once. Comex is another iOS hacker, creator of the JailBreakMe tool.

It apparently was not a fun decision. Earlier, on Saturday, @ChronicDevTeam tweeted this: "We still plan on releasing greenpois0n, but will probably have to just do the mature thing and use egohot's exploit, and save SHAtter." "Egohot" is a disparaging reference to Hotz's online handle "Geohot." "SHAtter" is the name given to the iOS security weakness uncovered by Chronic Dev Team.

No time frame for releasing GreenPois0n featuring the Hotz-discovered exploit has been given, except "as soon as possible." Instead of releasing it on 10-10-10, perhaps they'll wait for 11-11-11.